how to approach my dad

so i did my taxes and im getting screwed. my dad hasnt contributed anything to me since i was 16. he would send me money from my child support but that was still money from my mom, not him. well, since im udner 24 Im still considered a dependent and someone HAS to claim me for me to do FAFSA. My dad makes way less money than my mom so I use him income that way i get more grants and stuff for school. Well, since he claims me he gets back like an extra 500 bucks that I should be getting. Im the one paying for my school, rent, car payement etc... but he's the one getting the tax break for it. Im so mad I could scream. I know its my money and Im the one that needs it for school but I don't know how to go about asking him for it. Im paying over 300 bucks for someone to do my taxes and not getting anything back so Im basically out 300 bucks. If I would have been able to claim all my grants and interest for my loans it would have been over 400 bucks back. But now he's getting it. And it really irks me that he doesnt contribute anything to my education but is the one getting the credit for it. How am i supposed to approach him saying "i want my tax money"? Its so hard to tell how he is going to react sometimes. He has refused to talk to me for months over stupid thins but then huge things he is calm about. Im scared that not only will I not get the money I deserve, but he will sto talking to me because I want it.

I don't think you're understanding taxes very well. And your Dad doesn't get back money for you, he gets a credit subtracted from his income so there's that much less taxed. The taxes on a credit amount aren't that much.

But if you're making X dollars, supporting yourself, only you get to claim yourself, doesn't matter your age or that you're a student, etc. Literal IRS taxes and what your school is doing for your scholarships, etc. are not the same things.

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/students/index.html

But for your question, I would just, as matter of factly as I could, ask him for a certain amount of money, not go into details or be defensive or antagonistic about it or anything. That wouldn't get you the money. Be what he "wants" to get the money. You can revile him as a thief when there's not so much on the line and you don't need the money. When you're rich and famous you can not help support him :-) But just remember your goal for the moment is to get the money and play the charming little daughter role, daddy's girl.

salukigirl,

I know you're frustrated, and I'm sorry that you've been taken advantage of by some tax preparer, $300 is outrageous to do your taxes. I'd recommend Turbo Tax in the future.

I'm confused about what credit that you're refering to. Have you asked your dad for financial help going to school?

ive never asked him for help. and apparently 300 isnt bad considering i had 2 state returns and a federal with a schedule C for my 1099 Misc. I tried to use turbo tax but since I have so much extra this year I would have had to buy it anyways plus it was extremely confusing with the 1099G. my boyfriend did his online with turbotax but all he had were w2's. i have way more than that.

anyways.... his credit that he gets for claiming me on his taxes.

I'm also confused. I think you have to live with a parent at least six months of the year for him to claim you as a dependent.

Next, you have to have actually earned income and paid taxes to get anything back. If you've earned under a certain amount, you should get all your taxes back. If you claim yourself, he can't claim you.

Finally, I also encourage you to give a try to doing your own forms. The book is easy to follow, line by line.

the problem isnt with taxes, its with fafsa. im under 21 and still on my first bachelor's so according to them, im dependent. doesnt matter how long ive lived on my own, the only way im not dependent is if i go through emancipation, both my parents are dead or some other extreme. so they absolutely have to go off my parent's income and i have to be dependent on someone. the only way youre independent is if youre 24 or are working on a degree after your 1st bachelor's. its stupid but they call me dependent no matter what. and if i use my dads info (he makes the least amt. out of my parents) and they check to see that im actually dependent and he didnt claim me, im in big trouble.

its the stupidest rule ever but there is no way to get around it, ive been trying for 3 years. i have to use one of my parents' info for fafsa and for me to use their info, i have to say that im dependent on them. and the tax info and my fafse have to mess up. theyre allowed to call on anyone at anytime for verification which has already happened to me once.

I understand fully what you're talking about with FAFSA, having a daughter in college myself. You have found a loophole in the system and both you and your father are benefitting from it. He gets another dependant to use as a deduction and you get more money for school.

Simply approach your father and explain that you'd appreciate some financial support.

Will you get into trouble if you get found out ? I must admit to being a bit lost which is not hard for me.

i don't know what would happen but i don't want to find out either haha

well i talked to him yesterday and told him that im being screwed on my taxes and he offered to send me a couple hundred dollars. we were also talking about that 600 bucks everybody will get in june or july and i might not get it if he claimed me. but he said he would send me the 600 if he got mine for claiming me. better than expected. i must have caught him in a good mood haha. now its time to see if he follows through. (he has a problem with bag talk but no action. makes lots of plans but never follows through with them) so we'll see....

luckily, we did my boyfriend's taxes and he is getting almost 800 for federal and state back so that will cover all the losses Ill have from paying someone to do mine etc... I guess Im just smacking a "learning experience" sticker on this one like always. lol. thats the cool thing about being 20. anytime i mess up i just smack a "learning experience" sticker on it haha

That's so great that it's working out. I love your attitude. Learning always puts a positive spin on it.

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Doh2007 said:
That's so great that it's working out. I love your attitude. Learning always puts a positive spin on it.

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i want you to call my parents and repeat what you just said about the "i love your attitude" thing lol. then ill call them and say "HA! at least some person doesnt think i need an 'attitude adjustment'!"

I was curious about how the additional tax rebate was going to be distributed, I thought that people like you and my daughter would be lost in the shuffle. We claim her because we pay for her education, living expenses, etc, but I do not think we get the rebate for her because she's 18 now.

I'm glad that things worked out with your dad.

I would highly recommend Turbo Tax next year. The version you purchase is much more inclusive than the one online. Before I quit my job we were in a higher tax bracket and EVERYTHING was a form or a worksheet so we had an accountant. He never charged us $300 either, not for doing our taxes anyway. When I quit, he actually recommended Turbo Tax. It's very user friendly and if you have a problem for like $30 more you can talk to one of their accountants and have audit guarantee.

I make the most of ours, my daughter worked at a McDonalds when she was in High School and I did everyone's taxes with it. Although this year I told them that they were buying the paper and ink!

I agree $300.00 is crazy to do taxes. You can order so many publications off IRS.gov and do it yourself or TURBO TAX is great. Also, there is free tax prep at www.taxact.org. I did taxes last year as a part time job. JACKSON HEWITT, H&R BLOCK. Big rip off's. Had a married couple with two kids come in and pay $200.00 to get their taxes done.

If you can READ, you can do TAXES.

Trust me.

www.irs.gov

And I totally know what you are going through with the FAFSA crap. Been down that road. I've been on my own since I was 18 and I was still a "dependent".

starponysmama - it does suck!

i tried to call and ask how much it would be and they wouldnt quote me. so i looked it up and i found that the average tax preparer costs about 115 ish. so i went in there expecting that then saw 300 dollars. i will use it next year. i didnt this year because i had the schedule c but i wont next year.